RE: Jayco jay feather 25G and 26L
We always lift the velcro flap away from the hinge. We make sure it is away and not binding in the hinge/seal area. We check this thoroughly and are careful, as stated previously, we have leaks while towing in rain. And it still leaks and in any kind of rain (a light drizzle to cats and dogs)
Our dealer won't return our calls and not sure what kind of tests they will do to determine that it does leak (if they won't take our word that it does). Spraying water on it won't repeat the leak (tried that).
Lynda
You might try the test that our dealer initially tried with our leak, but did not reproduce the problem for us. They set the hose up on a tripod and had the similated rain coming down from above. They left it running for hours, so the water poured down the front over a long period of time.
Another thing to consider is possibility of water spray from your SUV. Your tires are going to be close enough to the trailer that the water spraying off the back tires will probably be hitting your hatch at about hinge level from that angle, and constantly over a long period of time. Try directing a water at or below the hinges from that angle for a long time, and see if that does anything.
Finally, I found the exact location of our leak by rolling up paper towels and taping them along the seams inside the hatch door - covering all seams. Where the towels were wet, I knew the water was coming in there. The mattress was getting wet on the bottom, but the water was actually coming in on the top. Maybe you could try the paper towel method while towing the trailer in the rain.
RE: Jayco jay feather 25G and 26L
The main issues that we have had with our 26L are:
- Design flaw with propane line placement in kitchen slide, which causes the line to be cut into by the slide movement. This is now a Jayco recall issue, and seems to affect many 26Ls. Ours has been repaired.
- Leaking in tent bed when closed. The hatch is not straight. Still working on this one.
- The sewer pipe is very low - which has been a challenge for us on emptying.
- There is no comfortable sleeping arrangement for DW and I, without opening up the tent bed. This makes quick one night stops on a long journey much less quick.
In spite of those issues, I can't think of another trailer that I would rather own. The bunk area for the kids is great. The volume of storage that is accessible from the outside is fantastic. The inside feels open and bright. It is a very comfortable trailer for our family of five. We love it.
We cook and eat meals outside, except for unusually bad weather conditions. When we eat inside, it is generally just a quick eat and run situation (rest stop, cereal breakfast, etc). So, for us, the lack of a table large enough to sit around is a non-issue.
Make sure you have great dealer service with this trailer. Jayco stands behind their trailers, but your front line is the dealer. My experience is that there are a number of build quality issues with this trailer. Things that show it was assembled quickly, and not often given a second look after assembly. You can probably expect issues to show up. As long as you have good dealer service, your issues will be dealt with quickly. But I wouldn't want to buy one of these from some discount wholesaler, for example.
Dry camping-friendly DVD and TV mod
Our Jayco came with a 22" flat screen TV, which is fine when you have hookups. But we like to camp in state parks, which frequently do not have hookups in this area. Also, the TV did not come with a DVD player, so we needed one to watch movies. The solution I came up with was to add a mobile ceiling mount DVD player. When we are camping with hookups, the mobile DVD player just loads the disk for playing on the TV. When we don't have hookups, we leave the TV at home (or just set it on the spare bunk) and watch on the 10.2" mobile DVD screen. I also added a 12v Digital TV converter, so that we can pick up broadcast DTV while dry camping. When watching TV, the setup consumes 1.6 amps. For a movie, it consumes 1.23 amps - less then the consumption of a single incandescent fixture (two bulbs)!
Besides the low power consumption, some other nice features of this setup (whether you are on 120vac or 12vdc) are 1) a built in FM transmitter - which, through Jayco's sound system, plays the movie sound out of the built-in ceiling speakers 2) an IR transmitter so that you can listen silently through IR headphones and 3) this mobile player has a feature that is common to some mobile players and which is not allowed in any home or portable DVD players (AFIK) - 'Autoplay'. Autoplay starts the movie right up, skipping all menus, previews, and promos. This feature is allowed in mobile DVD players because young kids in the back of the car often don't know how to navigate the menus with the remotes.
Here are some photos of the setup and the equipment I used:
This photo shows the player in 'dry camping mode'. The bracket under the monitor supports the LCD TV, when that is in use. The small box to the left of the player is the DTV converter.
http://www.gallery.pstartech.com/gallery2/g2data/albums/chilipyro/JaycoMods/47 DVD Player Mod.jpg
This photo is the DVD player I used - an Apline Alpine PKG-RSE2
http://reviews.cnet.com/sc/32138841-2-200-0.gif
This photo is of the DTV converter that I picked. I selected this one because of positive reviews, and the fact that the input power is 12vdc (it comes with a 120v transformer, which I clipped off the cord so that I could wire directly to the 12v system).
http://www.cheapdigitalconverters.com/cart/bmz_cache/3/3caf466ff8ab3e8621fb3fc7617e0fce.image.150x65.jpg
The cost of the setup was:
Apline PKG-RSE2 - $699 at www.crutchfield.com
Artek T3AP Pro (DTV converter) - $9.99+$40 DTV coupon at www.cheapdigitalconverters.com
RE: How long does it take to set up your HTT?
I find, as stated earlier, that the urgency of getting the interior and exterior extras set up (i.e., the camp) is much less with an HTT than with a pup. With the pup, all the storage was under the dinette seats and in the aisles. There was no way to pull in late and fix a quick supper for the kids right away - we had to haul everything out of the storage benches and out of the aisles. That made the arrival time very stressful for me. It is much, MUCH better now with the HTT. We pull in, level, unhitch, stabilize, and that's really all we need to do before a beer and a meal.
However, for us there is one issue with the tent bed setup that I find annoying (and reminiscent of the pup hassles). Believe it or not, it has nothing to do with rain. Because DW and I find the split mattress in our camper uncomfortable by itself, we have a memory foam mattress topper. This topper has to go somewhere while traveling. In our case, it goes on a spare bunk. The spare bunk is also where we keep our duffel bags while camping. While traveling though, the duffel bags are on the kids mattresses. The result of all this is that, when we arrive late and want to get the kids right into bed, there is a mad rush to get our bed set up so that we can clear all the junk off the kids beds. With a TT, our bed would be all made and ready to go, and the clothes would probably be in drawers rather than duffel bags too. That is the only aspect I find dissatisfying with our HTT setup process. I don't mind at all pulling down or putting up the tenting in the rain. It takes all of a couple of minutes - and I am already wet from hitching/unhitching, etc. We throw towels inside under the tenting, and keep the mattress in the bunk area, if it gets folded up wet. It is really no problem at all, compared with the pup.
I suppose that noise could be an issue (as compared with a TT) when you are near rowdy campers. But I find that to be rare (fortunately), and enjoy all the other times where the night time forest noises are heard loud and clear. I also find that the noise of rain in the tent area is far more quiet than under the hard roof in the rest of the trailer. Even in a light rain, the bunk area of our 26L sounds like the grand finale of a fireworks show!
RE: How long does it take to set up your HTT?
If you are comparing a pup to an HTT, you are probably only interested in the things that are in common and the things that change (re setup time). The things that are in common with pups, HTTs, and TTs are backing it in, leveling, stabilizers, hookups, and setting up camp. Those things will always take you the same amount of time. What is different is the tent bed (or lack of it) and poping up. An HTT has at least one tent bed. Folding it down (if yours does that) is faster and easier than pulling it out and adding the poles, but you are still talking about a minute difference (tops). There is no pop-up, so take those 3 minutes off too. The take down process gives the HTT a few more minutes edge as well (because folding in the tenting seems to take longer than popping it up).
All-in-all, I think you are looking at maybe 5 minutes difference in the setup and take-down of a pup, HTT, or TT. If that is all that you are comparing, then it isn't really a good reason to trade - IMHO.
RE: Is there such a thing as a comfortable RV folding couch?
I've had the 4" foam mattress from the tent end on there, plus a 3" memory foam on top of that, and it still made for a restless night (because of the pitch towards the floor on the aisle side).
I'll give the futon couch mod idea more thought over the winter. The people who design folding futon beds have come up with some very clever ways to allow a couch to fold out into the flat surface needed to support a futon mattress. I think the same designs and hardware could be adapted to work in an RV, maybe using lighter weight materials.
Is there such a thing as a comfortable RV folding couch?
What I really want is a couch that folds out into a bed that is comfortable for two adults to sleep on. The space is large enough for a full size bed (54"x75") but the current couch folds out to a 74"x48" bed. It's too narrow for two adults, but that is not the real problem - Jayco's J-Steel couch is miserably uncomfortable. There is a very pronounced crease in the middle and the wall end pitches down towards that. If you're near the edge along the aisle, the bed pitches you towards the aisle.
I'd be more than willing to replace the couch, if I could find one that folded out into a comfortable bed. Ideally, it would be wider too, but if it could just be flat - that alone would be worth the purchase.
So, how about it... do any of you own a camper where the couch folds into a comfortable bed for two? If so, I'd love to know who makes that couch.
I'm seriously thinking of doing a DIY couch bed - using a full size futon couch that we aren't using. It would take some work to adapt it, but it makes an excellent bed. I'm a bit concerned about the added weight to the slide on my 26L though. Futons are not light.
RE: Hard Slide
When we pack up wet, we pull the mattress off and stick it in the bunk room. The tenting folds up onto itself and the wetness stays contained. At home we open up and air dry. Closing the tent end up takes all of 15 seconds. Raising the stabilizers and hitching is where I get wet when it is raining :).
If it has been (or is) raining, the slide on our 26L is wet on the top and sides when I bring it in. I have reached around to feel this wetness, but I am not sure why it would be a concern. Nothing that could be damaged by water is made wet by bringing the slide in. I am looking into slide toppers to prevent branches, etc from getting caught in the slide, but I would not do that just for water.
I agree with kknowlton about the dampness in the trailer. It comes from the air outside, not the tenting. If you close up the camper and turn on the AC, then you can dry the air. Otherwise, it will be damp no matter what kind of camper you have. On the other hand, on a recent cold and wet trip, I noticed a lot more damp feeling in the tent bed than in the beds of the bunk house. Condensation (which was reduced, but not eliminated with reflectix and a pop-up gizmo) on the tent probably has something to do with this, but I think it may also be the fact that it is a small space and has very thin walls. That space doesn't seem to dry up as easily as the rest of the camper, if the day stays cool and wet.
RE: Hard Slide
I've always understood a 'Hybrid' to be a cross between a travel trailer and a pop-up - i.e., with one or more tent beds. Bed slides are just another form of expandability in a travel trailer.
I haven't seen anyone say this so far (surprisingly), but a big difference between a bed slide and a bed pop-out is that the slide can stay all made up with bedding and ready to sleep in - just like any other travel trailer.
Also, I am finding that the tent beds are significantly quieter in the rain than the rest of the interior of the trailer. I would guess that implies a slide bed would be pretty noisy in a rain storm.
RE: Fresh Water at Campsite
The pump won't pump if there is sufficient pressure in the line, so it will not pull water from the fresh tank as long as there is pressure coming into the lines from the city water connection. As Chuck said, just turning off the city tap should allow you to use the pump to pull from the fresh tank.
By the way, I learned the hard way recently that you should taste the camp water before filling your fresh tanks with it - or use an in-line filter on the fill hose always. There is a rusty taste in our fresh tanks now (from Fundy NP in New Brunswick) that has persisted through two emptyings and refillings. We have a tap filter (one of those Brita filters where you switch a lever to get filtered water out of the tap) and didn't notice that the camp water tasted bad until we filled the fresh tanks for the next leg of our journey.
RE: Jayco 17C
I attached a 4' external sewer hose tube to the back of my 26L, because I didn't like the idea of a sewer hose sitting in a tube inside the camper. As it turned out, the tube that was supplied with the camper was too short for my 15' RinoFLEX hose anyway. I extended the sewer hose tube of the 26L (using non-perforated 4" drain pipe), but use it to house our fishing rods while traveling instead of for its original purpose.
After dumping a couple of times, I got fed up with the fact that you have to remove the fittings to get the hose in the tube (and then reattach every time you dump). So, I no longer use the tube at all - the hoses just sit in a Tupperware tub, with fittings attached, and travel in the back of the truck.
RE: Drying Jayco fixed pitch power awnings (2008 26L)
On the subject of screen rooms for these awnings - I have been in contact with someone at Carefree, and was told that they have been working on the screen room for the powered awnings (flat pitch, steep pitch, and adjustable pitch). It is expected to be available in September, but I was also told May, then June, then July ... It must be a challenge.
RE: Drying Jayco fixed pitch power awnings (2008 26L)
That doesn't dry it enough to prevent mildew (though it does get the debris off pretty well), but if I did it early in the day, and enough sun hit the awning, it should be dry enough to close by evening. As I said - PITA.
Drying Jayco fixed pitch power awnings (2008 26L)
I am having a heck of a time getting the awnings on my 26L to dry before closing them up. The flat pitch doesn't seem to allow the water to drain (unless it pools up enough to trigger the 'rain dump' feature). As a result, it seems to collect a small pool of water that never seems to dry. It will dry part of the way during the day, but then collect dew at night and I am back to square one. I've tried rolling and unrolling it to get rid of the pool, but that still isn't enough to get it dry during the day. I wouldn't care, except that the black mildew stains got bad, and it was a lot of work to clean them. Now that it is clean, I'd like it to stay that way.
Have any of you (who own a Carefree fixed pitch power awning) experienced similar drying difficulty? I'm thinking of upgrading to an adjustable pitch awning (or even scraping the power awning for manual) - this is a PITA :M!
RE: Where to store chairs, etc. during travel?
The five bag chairs go in the back of the truck. When we are parked at home, they go under the trailer. I started out with them in the large storage area in the back of our 26L, but found that there were other things I needed to get at first, and they ended up in the way. I'm still playing around with the organization. They may end up in the storage area again eventually.
RE: Jayco dinette extension mod Phase 1 complete!
You probably saw my post about the ducting under the sink with my 26L, as well as the gas and electric lines - which were all being cut into by metal parts that moved while the slide went in and out. The dealer fashioned a new metal duct, to replace the section where the tear was occurring, but the flexible duct came loose recently (from that new metal duct) and I brought it back to the dealer for additional work. I get a little air out of that duct now, but I am starting to think that loosing it altogether would not be a noticeable loss (and would simplify things under the sink greatly).
RE: Jayco dinette extension mod Phase 1 complete!
Nice work.
Do you plan to extend the heater duct out the front of the bottom section? Or have you just closed that off (I notice that there isn't much heat coming from this duct on my 26L anyway)?
RE: Fan in 26L
Here is a link to some photos showing the fan I had installed in the front:
http://www.gallery.pstartech.com/gallery2/main.php?g2_itemId=68553
Fan in 26L
I tried to post a reply to this topic several times, but the post button seems to be disabled - don't understand why. I'll try as a new topic.
marshalljayco wrote:
"I have a 26L and the back bunks get a little stuffy, has anyone figured out a way to increase air flow to this area or install a fan over the bunks. Thanks"
My reply is:
I installed a fan in the front of the trailer (between the dinette and the couch). It improves the circulation throughout my 26L. The kids like it warm back there so far, but it doesn't seem that much warmer than the rest of the trailer. If they want it cooler as they grow older, I would add a fan there too (since the fan in front worked out so well).
RE: Battery questions for dry camping for 4 days.
I suspect that it was the lights and TV, as much as the furnace (and possibly, a battery that either didn't hold a good charge, or wasn't fully charged at the start. Incandescent lights suck a hell of a lot of power. The furnace pulls quite a bit too.
As Chuck said, it is all about amp hours. My trailer uses .67 amps with just the background draw plus the fridge (on LP). That alone will drain a group 24 battery in about three and a half days. With a group 27 (about 70 useful amp hours) that takes you to a little under 5 days - with nothing else used. There is a tiny bit left for other things (about 7 amp hours) - not nearly enough for periodic use of lights or a night of furnace use.
There are many solutions to lasting longer without electric hookups, but the OP seemed to be looking for a low cost solution that involved replacing the stock battery with another more powerful battery and which would allow a 4 day camp. If he can sacrifice the TV, furnace, and lights, he should be able to do that on a group 27 without having to recharge. If he is willing to take the battery out for a recharge (or has the money and skills to go with a two battery solution), then he can add some TV and/or furnace time. The Mr Heater option is recommended by many (I have one). That might be a workable option in the cold weather - though many recommend against using these to heat while you are sleeping. I still think it is better to use different lighting options when camping without hookups.
